Published: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 4:39 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 4:39 a.m.

"This is what we do for a living," the Detroit manager said Sunday as he made his first appearance at Tigertown prior to the official reporting date for pitchers and catchers today. "When it gets to the point where you dread coming to spring training, you probably shouldn't go to spring training."

And he's as fired up about it now as he was back in the mid-70s when, as a young manager, he made the Lakeland Tigers the dominant force in Florida State League baseball.

The years since have tempered him, made him better at what he does, more confident and sure of himself in a somewhat quiet, unassuming way, but to Leyland baseball is baseball. Whether you're trying to win the FSL championship — which he did — or the World Series — which he might do again this year.

Leyland, of course, would not buy into that. He would tell you that managers don't win championships, players do, and for the most part, he is right.

And the Tigers have players.

On paper, Detroit goes into this season with arguably the best starting rotation in baseball, probably the best pitcher in baseball in Justin Verlander and likely the best hitter in baseball in Miguel Cabrera.

That's a pretty good foundation to build on, and we haven't even mentioned Prince Fielder, who ranks right up there with Cabrera, or Max Scherzer, who averaged more strikeouts per game than Verlander, or the return of Victor Martinez to the middle of the batting order or the addition of Torii Hunter.

To sum it up, that's why virtually everybody is picking the Tigers to win the AL Central, almost everybody is picking them to get to the World Series and an awful lot of people are picking them to win it.

And Detroit does look good on paper.

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how good you look on paper. What matters is how good you are on the field, and Leyland would be the first to tell you that, too.

To that end, his focus this spring is not on winning, rather it is on preparing to win.

"I never talk to the players about winning, and I've been that way ever since I started managing," Leyland said. "I never say ‘We've got to win the division' or ‘We've got to win this game.' I talk about preparing to win."

Leyland doesn't mind his players talking about winning, about finishing what they started last year when they got to the World Series but were unceremoniously dumped on their behinds in four games by San Fran­cisco.

But he wants them to understand that there's a "fine line" between finishing on top and just finishing. If you don't believe that, ask the Chicago White Sox. They had the division in their hands and let Detroit take it away from them.

"We might not have won the division last year," Leyland said. "We played good at the right time."

Leyland will also confer with his coaching staff about setting the proper tone once workouts start Tuesday.

"I want to make sure we work the process (do the things that are necessary to get ready for the season)," Leyland said. "I want the staff to set the tempo; let's go do this and let's do it right."

There are still some things that, supposedly, will be settled in spring training, like whether or not 22-year-old Bruce Rondon, not far removed from the Lakeland Tigers, is ready to close for a team that is expected to at least get to the World Series. Rondon has never thrown a pitch in the major leagues and this would appear to be a huge gamble and will be decided in staff meetings, most notably those between Leyland and Dave Dombrowski, Detroit's general manager, and not by anything Rondon does on the field.

The Tigers already know what Rondon can do on the field. They just have to decide whether or not he can do it in Detroit.

<p>LAKELAND| Jim Leyland is ready. He's been ready since the holidays ended Jan. 1. </p><p>"This is what we do for a living," the Detroit manager said Sunday as he made his first appearance at Tigertown prior to the official reporting date for pitchers and catchers today. "When it gets to the point where you dread coming to spring training, you probably shouldn't go to spring training."</p><p>And he's as fired up about it now as he was back in the mid-70s when, as a young manager, he made the Lakeland Tigers the dominant force in Florida State League baseball. </p><p>The years since have tempered him, made him better at what he does, more confident and sure of himself in a somewhat quiet, unassuming way, but to Leyland baseball is baseball. Whether you're trying to win the FSL championship — which he did — or the World Series — which he might do again this year.</p><p>Leyland, of course, would not buy into that. He would tell you that managers don't win championships, players do, and for the most part, he is right.</p><p>And the Tigers have players. </p><p>On paper, Detroit goes into this season with arguably the best starting rotation in baseball, probably the best pitcher in baseball in Justin Verlander and likely the best hitter in baseball in Miguel Cabrera.</p><p>That's a pretty good foundation to build on, and we haven't even mentioned Prince Fielder, who ranks right up there with Cabrera, or Max Scherzer, who averaged more strikeouts per game than Verlander, or the return of Victor Martinez to the middle of the batting order or the addition of Torii Hunter.</p><p>To sum it up, that's why virtually everybody is picking the Tigers to win the AL Central, almost everybody is picking them to get to the World Series and an awful lot of people are picking them to win it.</p><p>And Detroit does look good on paper.</p><p>Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how good you look on paper. What matters is how good you are on the field, and Leyland would be the first to tell you that, too.</p><p>To that end, his focus this spring is not on winning, rather it is on preparing to win. </p><p>"I never talk to the players about winning, and I've been that way ever since I started managing," Leyland said. "I never say 'We've got to win the division' or 'We've got to win this game.' I talk about preparing to win."</p><p>Leyland doesn't mind his players talking about winning, about finishing what they started last year when they got to the World Series but were unceremoniously dumped on their behinds in four games by San Fran­cisco.</p><p>But he wants them to understand that there's a "fine line" between finishing on top and just finishing. If you don't believe that, ask the Chicago White Sox. They had the division in their hands and let Detroit take it away from them. </p><p>"We might not have won the division last year," Leyland said. "We played good at the right time."</p><p>Leyland will also confer with his coaching staff about setting the proper tone once workouts start Tuesday. </p><p>"I want to make sure we work the process (do the things that are necessary to get ready for the season)," Leyland said. "I want the staff to set the tempo; let's go do this and let's do it right."</p><p>There are still some things that, supposedly, will be settled in spring training, like whether or not 22-year-old Bruce Rondon, not far removed from the Lakeland Tigers, is ready to close for a team that is expected to at least get to the World Series. Rondon has never thrown a pitch in the major leagues and this would appear to be a huge gamble and will be decided in staff meetings, most notably those between Leyland and Dave Dombrowski, Detroit's general manager, and not by anything Rondon does on the field. </p><p>The Tigers already know what Rondon can do on the field. They just have to decide whether or not he can do it in Detroit.</p>